From Boy To Wolf
by Johnwolf234
Summary: Back by popular demand, the original (With a few Tweaks) FBTW is back! Join John Adams as he goes on an adventure back through time and becomes a wolf-dog. With friends and Enemies old and new, who will prevail? Rated M for graphic torture scenes, gore, violence, sex and Rape.
1. Chapter 1

_**John Adams is an ordinary 14-year-old boy living in Telford, England (he is based on me, so this will be mostly from his-or my- point of view and the actions and words he uses would be are what I would say and do in this situation, so yes, he is me, I am him.**_

_**He goes to Idsall school and has watched the Balto movies more times than is good for him (why d'ya think I'm writing this?)**_

_**Just to be clear he/I come from 2014 and so will use terminology that is out of place here.**_

_**This story is based sometime after Balto 3: wings of change and Balto hasn't been adopted, though he is friendly with both Rosy (Jenna's owner) and Duke (the pilot) the plane and sled teams have worked a deal and everything is settling down nicely, but of course, there's a problem, for both me (I get bored, go to sleep, and wake up as a black wolf-dog nearly 100 years ago, go figure) and the town (as in WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY!)**_

_**Oh, and to be scientifically accurate, whenever I say 'crying' for wolves or dogs in this fic (or any of my other wolf fics), I mean the emotions associated with crying along with whimpering and other distressed sounds, k?**_

_**Just so we're clear the first chapter will be a kinda prologue, explaining my average day, and will end when I fall asleep, the second will be from a third person POV up to halfway though, where Balto goes hunting for food and finds me (of course, by this point I'm a dog) and will switch to my point of view when I wake up, expect some uncontrollable crying at that point, combined with a depressing thought paragraph (I've just been turned into a dog, how would you feel) after that, I'm not sure, please leave a review or PM me with any ideas for the story! That's all folks, see you in chapter 1!**_

_**P.S: Author's notes will be in bold and italics, titles in bold and underlined, and thoughts in italics with quote marks, and I might start switching POV's a lot. I'll always let you know when that happens but I'm not changing it.**_

**Chapter 1**

**A normal day at school- or is it?**

John Adams woke to the sound of his bedside alarm ringing, one of those really annoying things where it took five minutes to find the snooze button, let alone the off button.

**John's POV**

I sighed, "looks like its going to be one of those days," I Grumbled miserably to myself, then got up and quickly got changed, realising it was Friday, not Saturday, as I had hoped.

Five minutes later, I was in my school clothes, blazer, tie and all and was looking in the mirror, contemplating (not for the first time), how much I looked like a little businessman – but then stopped halfway through 'little'. _'No, certainly not little, I could pass for an adult without this damn moustache growing so slowly.'_ Then I chuckled- _'moustache? More like a tiny bit of fuzz over my mouth.'_

I then went downstairs and had breakfast - C_hocco squares,_ the box read - why did we always get what my younger-and in my opinion, not entirely sane - brother wanted?

I mean, he's in secondary school and he just keeps saying 'rainbows' whenever someone asks him what he likes, then bursts into tears when he realised everyone was laughing at him not with him.

Then I checked the Friday timetable and groaned- _'double maths and French! I hate French... and maths.'_

After this, I got my respective books, pencil case and study planner into my bag, stood around while my younger brother-as always- took five minutes more than necessary with everything and set off for the bus, my brother in tow.

Yes, we have school buses in England, there just not yellow, in fact, our school buses were actually old coaches re-purposed to carry 75 screaming teenagers rather than 75 middle aged men, personally, I'd rather be on the latter; I'm sure all the girls squealing is not good for my hearing.

After the expected agony of 75 hyperactive school kids for a 30- minute bus drive to Shifnal, where Idsall school was, I got off the bus, put my coat in my locker and went to my tutor room, where I was registered into the morning reg and sat down to read until the first lesson. surprisingly, I couldn't concentrate even during the one lesson I enjoyed -science- and could only think about those Balto films, thinking

_'I wish this was all real and I could get there and meet and talk to Balto and stuff, it'd be fun!'_

Little did I realise, my wish was going to become true and not in the way I had intended...

After the return bus ride, which was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, with the exception that it got quieter as people got off at their respective stops, I walked the rest of the way home, younger brother again in tow and rambling about things I'd rather not listen to, so I got out my phone and turned up the music on my headphones, drowning out his incessant babbling – I had long since given up trying to tell him to be quiet – and walked home, letting myself in.

_'No homework at least,'_ I thought, trudging back up to my room, _'but man am I tired!'_ I thought, all but collapsing on my bed. I held my phone near me (a comfort thing really, I knew it could do pretty much anything and just felt safer with it) and my last thought before I fell asleep was _'Strange, I feel like curling up in a ball...'_

As I drifted into unconsciousness, I could have sworn I felt the bed fall away from beneath me and be replaced by something a lot colder, but it seemed to warm up again in seconds and I fell asleep- blissfully unaware of what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Unexpected Guest**

_**Ok, first 'proper' chapter here, should be a bit longer than before.**_

Balto was walking down the streets of Nome, reflecting on all that had happened in the last few years. That he, a former outcast had saved the town, had puppies with Jenna, gone on an adventure with his daughter, Aleu, after she had discovered she was part wolf and he had, yet again, saved a life when he went out the find Duke, the pilot of the bush plane.

_'So much can happen in such a short time'_, he reflected, _'but still I am without a human family. even though I'm friendly with most of them now, none seem quite ready to adopt me.'_

Balto sighed. Feeling sorry for himself was getting him nowhere, so he decided he should just think about the positives like _'at least I'm greeted with open arms now, instead of loaded shotguns'_

Finally, Balto found himself standing in front of Jenna's house. _'Wow, I walked halfway through the town without even realising it!'_

Well, now he was here he might as well see if Jenna was up, he decided.

Balto gave a low bark, enough to get someone's attention but hopefully not enough to wake them, for Balto had no wish to interrupt anyone's sleep for no reason other than a chat. When no one answered, he decided they must still be asleep and continued his walk though the town, back to that old boat he slept in, along with his 'uncle' Boris and the two polar bears, Muk and Luk. _'its not exactly a normal family, but its all I've got'_ he thought, before realizing that he was very hungry. _'how could I not have noticed that?'_ he asked himself.

Then he saw the sun was only just coming up and realised that this was why no one seemed to be up _'strange,'_ he thought, _'I usually sleep in- as long there's no emergency, that is.'_

_'Well, there won't be any scraps out at this hour,'_ he thought glumly, _'looks like I'll have to go hunting.'_

And, so decided, he trotted off into the wood, but little did he know, there was a certain somebody he would meet in the woods that was not were or when he was supposed to be, but neither was he what he was supposed to be…

**John's POV**

I woke up to a blanket of white, and an odd feeling that I had something that people didn't normally have.

_'Ookkaayyy… this is strange'_ I thought, looking round myself, then I gasped when I caught sight of a black paw. Horrified, I realised that it responded to the commands I sent to my fingers. _'Holy shit. What the hell happened to me!?'_

Then I looked over my back and almost fainted, for I saw the black hindquarters and tail of a wolf-dog.

_'This is NOT happening, it can't be!' _I shouted inside my head.

_'Well quite obviously it is,'_ replied the logical part of my mind.

Unfortunately, that part was also the more gullible part as it took everything at face value, so I couldn't really take it at its word. I also disliked it because I was acutely aware that having a conversation with another personality in my head probably meant I was going mad.

_'Find some ice or something, check your reflection'_ said the logical part.

_'...Well I guess there's no harm in finding out,'_ replied my emotional side grudgingly.

I then attempted to stand, but lost my balance almost instantaneously. '_You have four legs now, use them!'_ my logical side said dryly.

_'Hey I'm supposed to be the part with the sense of humour!' _I yelled back.

Then I decided that maybe I was being too harsh, after all we were both parts of the same mind and neither would ever do anything to harm the other, and decided to try it. Much to my surprise, it worked, though it did feel strange, like I had reverted to a baby, crawling round on hands and knees.

_'No not crawling, you have seen dogs move, right? copy their actions!'_ Said my logical side again.

I quickly realised this was the most sensible course of action and started imitating a dogs walk. Again to my surprise, it felt more natural and I was soon used to it and walking normally (for a dog at least).

_'what did I tell you?'_ asked the logical part again.

_'Ok fine, maybe you're right sometimes, but I'm still not buying this!'_ I thought stubbornly, then finding a sheet of reflective ice on my left, I walked up to it and looked down, then nearly fainted for the second time in the last few minutes, for looking back up at me was not a 14-year-old boy, but a large, well built pure black wolf-dog.

_'Well, now... this is a turn-up isn't it?'_ I thought, trying to make myself laugh. It didn't work.

_'Ok maybe this is happening, but how did it happen? one night I'm in my room in England now I'm well… wherever this is, possibly Alaska.'_

Then I heard something crack the bushes behind me, and turned around quickly, shouting "WHO'S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!" but I regretted this as soon as I said it, for walking out of the bushes was a large Brown and off- white coloured wolf.

_'Shit, I hope I haven't pissed him off, or I'm in real trouble – I can barely walk in this body, let alone fight!'_ As I thought this, I heard a low whine coming from myself, and felt my ears go back into a submissive posture. _'Ah, so this is what happens when dogs get scared' _I thought.

Then to my eternal shame, I heard a small piddling noise from below me _'wow, I am scared, this only happens in extreme submissiveness!'_ I thought, remembering the dog body language book I had read, _'Then maybe what's happening is my subconscious remembering that book.' _I thought, after all, if my subconscious knows something that will get me out of a situation it will do it involuntarily.

Then, as the wolf dog approached, my last thought before finally fainting from one shock too many was _'oh SHIT he looks PISSED!'_

Then I collapsed.

At the same time as John Adams woke up to find he was a dog, Balto was in the forest looking for game to hunt.

_'It does help my self- control to let the wolf half of me just do its thing every now and then.'_ he decided, _'helps me ignore the urges to hunt when I'm in town.' _

Then he saw something very peculiar - a black wolf dog attempting to stand on its hind legs, then appearing to have a conversation with itself before going into a crawl then a fair approximation of a dogs gait, seeming to get more used to it with each step.

_'Wow, this guy looks like he's having to learn to walk again.' _he thought, not knowing that he wasn't far off in this assumption.

Balto decided to take a closer look and crawled through some bushes to find the black dog was looking into a ice puddle, an expression halfway between disbelief and sadness on his face, then Balto moved forward a bit, cracking a twig in the process, he almost jumped back when he saw (and heard) the black wolf dog spin round and shout "WHO'S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!" knowing he couldn't keep hidden much longer, Balto walked calmly out of the bushes and as he did, he saw the look on the half-breeds face change from surprise and anger to fear and submission.

_'wow, I'm not THAT scary, am I?'_ Balto thought before taking another step forward, to his surprise he saw the dog go from fear to absolute terror and submissiveness, _'he's even wet himself.' _thought Balto as he sniffed the air, involuntarily taking another step forward, then the saw the wolf dog's eyes go wide, and he fainted.

_'wow, this guy is really touchy.'_ thought Balto as he dragged the other wolf dog away from the puddle of pee and after washing the wet parts with snow to prevent himself smelling of pee, Balto crawled underneath him and started back to Nome, deciding to lay the poor guy on his boat and maybe bring Jenna over.

A few steps later Balto noticed something black and rectangular drop out of the fur of the Wolf-Dog.

Deciding that whatever it was seemed to be something to do with the strange wolf-dog, he set it aside to bring back after he'd gotten the Wolf-dog to the boat.

_'After all, he might be less scared of a dog,'_ he reasoned, before laying the wolf dog down on the deck of the old boat, with instructions to Boris and Muk and Luk to leave him alone.

"This guy fainted when he saw me coming, I don't think he'll react well to two polar bears trying to give him a hug.'' he'd explained to them, before going to find Jenna.

_'After all, its been a few hours, they should be up by now.'_ he reasoned, as he started over to her house.

**Today would be important for them all, more than any of them realised.**

_**This took me a few hours, I may even have finished the next chapter by tomorrow.**_

_**I'm making this partly on my phone, so it might not be very good quality, I'm also working on it through the night.**_

_**Oh, and give John a break here: he's been taken away from his family, turned into a wolf-dog, and then is approached by what he thought was a wolf. He's not a scardy-dog.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- acceptance-and a helping smart phone**

**John's POV**

When I woke up, I found that I was on some sort of boat. Looking around, I saw two polar bears and decided it would be best if I pretended to be asleep, I had closed my eyes again when a feminine voice said "I saw that, so you can stop pretending to be asleep."

Wearily, I opened my eyes again and saw a red and white female husky looking at me with what looked like a playful grin on her face.

When she saw me looking at the two polar bears she said "oh, don't worry about them, the one time they hurt something, it was a fly, and that one was an accident."

I smiled and asked "Alright. Well... How did I get here? The last thing I remember is a Brown and white wolf walking right up to me" she smiled and said "he's only half-wolf, and I thought you would have noticed, seeing as your half- wolf yourself" I grimaced, this was going to take some getting used to. Not only was I having a conversation with a dog, but apparently I was one too.

"Well I really wasn't thinking straight at the time and to be honest, I'm, ah, not sure I am now." I said, still rather unsure as to whether I'd hit my head and all of this was some kind of hallucination.

"Oh? What's wrong?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." I told her, then deciding to try and get her mind off it I added, "Oh, but where are my manners? I'm John." I said, hoping she wouldn't inquire as to the rather human nature of the name.

I needn't have worried, for all she said was "Well my names Jenna, and the guy that brought you here is called Balto, he's my mate." she said, grinning slightly.

"Well then it's nice to meet you Jenna" I said, keeping to the tried and true method – when in doubt, be polite.

But then I stopped – how did all of this seem familiar? _'Of course! The Balto films!'_

Hoping to either confirm of disprove this idea, I asked casually, "Would he happen to be the same Balto that was an outcast until he saved the town of Nome from a Diphtheria outbreak?"

"Well... Yes, but how do you know about it?" She asked, looking confused.

"Oh, they made a film in the 1990's about this whole thing." I blurted out, clamping a paw over my muzzle as I realised what I'd just said. _'Ah shit.' _

"The 1990's? But its 1928!" She said, shock and disbelief on her face.

_'Well shit.' _I thought. _'Ah, straight-up lying usually ends up worse for me in the long term, so I guess I'll just have to tell her part of the truth.'_

"Ah, right, I'm from 2014 and ah I have not idea how I got here." I said, avoiding saying I was originally a human, as a time-travelling human that turns into a dog would probably be a bit much for her to handle at this stage.

"And why exactly should I believe you?" She asked, apparently deciding on disbelief.

I looked around for a bit and then remembered what I had gone to sleep with in my hands.

"Did Balto mention anything about a small rectangular black object near where I was?" I asked hopefully

"Well yea, it's beside you, but why do you need it?" She asked.

"To prove who I am." I stated, then grabbed it and hoping the cold hadn't killed it, I managed to press the on button with one of my new-found claws. Thankfully, I was rewarded by the screen lighting up and the Motorola start-up sound, the CM 11 boot animation filling the screen.

"What is that?" Asked Jenna, almost jumping at the unexpected sound.

"It's called a smart phone, and if you'll excuse me it's asking me for my password." I said, slowly tapping in the code while thanking myself that the screen was of the variety that did not require a finger to operate. When the code was complete, I pressed confirm and was rewarded by the home screen.

"Can you read?" I asked, not impolitely, but knowing it would make this a lot easier if she could

"Yes, can you?" She replied.

"Obviously." I said, then tapped onto the calendar and showed her the date shown on it.

"It reads 24th February, 2014," she said, still not quite believing me.

"Yes, that was the date on which I fell asleep and woke up here, incidentally, just before I came here I was thinking about how cool it would be to meet you people, though…not like this." I said, faltering a bit at the end.

"Ok, I think I'm about halfway to believing you, but I need to know everything." she said, making it clear she that WOULD find out if I held anything back.

"Well I've told you everything but one thing." I said, my tone of voice now turning slightly thoughtful.

"And what would that be?" She asked, obviously not settling for this answer.

"I… I was not a dog, or a wolf, for that matter." I said, still hoping she would drop it, but this only seemed to make her more intent.

"Then what were you?" She asked, obviously puzzled.

"I am… was… have been… human."

"WHAT!?"

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me, but do you really think a wolf-dog from this time or any time for that matter would have a device like this?" I asked, holding the phone up.

"Not really but what kind of proof is that?" She asked, now looking annoyed.

"The full kind." I answered flatly.

"Show me" she demanded

I obliged, and started a slide show of images from my life in 2014 – my room, my house, my family, me, my computer, and finished with a short clip of the Balto film.

"It's... true." she said, thunderstruck.

"Yes, it is, but I am kinda stuck here, so can you avoid telling just everyone about me being human?" I asked

"Then who CAN I tell" she asked

"Anyone who will believe and trust you, family, close friends only, but make sure no one is listening when you tell them, I don't want the whole town to know." I said, wanting to show her I trusted her judgement for the most part.

"Well, okay that's sensible I guess." she said.

"Thanks, but now I'm kinda hungry" I stated, just as my stomach growled, causing me to blush – but hopefully it wouldn't be noticed underneath all the fur on my face.

Jenna noticed anyway and said "well, if your gonna be here for any length of time your going to have to eat what we do, and it would be easiest if you found someone to take care of you" she said.

I nodded at her words and asked "but what do I eat tonight, and where do I stay?"

"My family is always ready to put out some leftovers for a stray and you could sleep here"

"Yes, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm half wolf now, and it took Balto saving the town-and his daughter- for Rosy's father to trust him enough to let him anywhere near the family." I pointed out.

Jenna looked surprised that I knew her girls name but remembered when I was from and thought about it.

"He does seem more trustful of all wolf-dogs now," she said "as long as you seem friendly and I show that I know you, it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

I nodded and asked what I should do, to which she replied,

"Follow me to my family's house then wait outside until I get their attention."

"Fine by me," I said, then, curious I asked "where is Balto anyway?"

"He was out hunting when he found you, he said he'll be back at noon" she replied

"Alright then, lets go, but fairly slowly please, I'm still getting used to having four legs." I said, chuckling slightly at my predicament.

Jenna laughed then walked into town, me following close behind.

It was kind of unnerving the first time a kid came up and petted me, but it felt good and I let him thinking that I should at least make a good first impression on the children and their parents, some of whom I noticed were looking warily at me, and I noticed a shotgun on one of them. Hurriedly, I moved away from the shotgun-man and caught up to Jenna, who had been waiting while I was stroked, petted and stared at.

"Well you seem to be good with the kids, how was your first experience of being petted then?"

"Not bad actually, though it feels kinda strange and some of the younger ones need to learn when to stop pulling on ears." I complained, flicking said ears in annoyance as I felt them start to throb.

"Well at least you let them and didn't bite anyone, so that helps your first impression."

"That's exactly what I thought, though I hope that the next guy that stands in front of me while I'm being petted doesn't have a shotgun, that's actually why I left." I said, looking back to make sure the man with the gun hadn't followed me.

"Well you'd better get used to some of them being like that, there's always someone who can't see past your looks." she said, sighing presumably in annoyance on behalf of her mate.

Finally we were in front of the house and Jenna turned back to me, asking "You ready?"

I nodded and whimpered quietly, "Yea... I just hope they'll be friendly..."

"I'm sure they will..." Jenna said reassuringly.

She walked up to the door and scratched on it, stepping back as it opened and her family stepped out. _'Alright, remember not to nod. Dogs don't nod.'_

Rosy's parents looked at me suspiciously while Rosy just stood next to Jenna. _'Damn, not the reaction I was hoping for'_

_'Alright, think John... What can dogs and wolves do that could help this situation...' _I asked myself. _'They beg!'_

That decided, I cocked my head to one side and tried to look cute, as this had seemed to work for every dog I had seen both in movies and in real life.

As soon as Rosy saw my head tilt, she ran forward and started to stroke my back, scratching my head with her other hand. Too surprised to do anything else, and knowing that I would ruin my chances if I shook her off, I just let her, even starting to enjoy it, and after about 10 seconds I felt my tail start to wag, slowly at first then faster and faster as the nice feelings started to increase.

_'Wow I'm really coping well with this wolf-dog business, considering I didn't know what to do with a tail until this morning.'_ I thought, sitting there being stroked. I found it more enjoyable than before because she seemed gentler than the other kids I had met earlier.

At this point, Jenna cleared her throat and Rosy rushed off to fuss over her instead. _'Well if she likes it as much as I do, it's no wonder dogs like living with people.'_ I thought.

Rosy's father, seeing that I at least seemed to be gentle, walked up to me and knelt down, scratching behind my ears gently as he said, "I bet you want food, eh boy?"

I barked happily and wagged my tail in affirmation, at this point more concerned by the prospect of food than the fact I was being talked to like, well, a dog.

"Well, lucky for you we have some spare – but don't be getting used to it, ya' hear?" He asked, pointing a finger at me before chuckling slightly and walking inside.

'_Well, that went... Well, I guess?'_ I asked myself rhetorically.

On the one hand I had a source of food for now. On the other it wasn't permanent and I'd just received a very in-your-face lesson on how I could expect to be treated; suspicously, then as if I were a pet, then doggy talk. _'This is gonna take some getting used to...' _I sighed.

After a minute or so the man walked out again with a bowl in his hands, he set it down at my feet and I barked my appreciation before gingerly starting to eat it.

_'Well either things just taste different as a wolf dog or this stuff is actually quite good.'_ I remarked to myself before eating more quickly _'then again, in this time there wouldn't be any processed dog food so it probably isn't much different to what they're eating.'_ I thought as I finished, then looked thankfully at the man and got ready to leave.

"I'll go back to the boat with you." offered Jenna, but I said I could find it myself, and she should probably stay there, as it was now approaching noon and she should be in a house at this time, unless she really wanted to come and see if Balto was back yet.

"I'll take a message for you if you want." I offered when she decided to stay with her family.

"just tell Balto I said goodnight." called Jenna as she went inside, I nodded and started back, remembering the way back down the street to the old boat.

As I got closer I noticed the Brown and white wolf dog from earlier – whom I now recognised as Balto – looking away from the shore and gangplank staring out to sea. At that moment, I decided to try to get him back for the embarrassment of the morning, and so I sneaked up the gangplank, got as close as I dared, avoided any loose boards and shouted "BOO!" - then fell back laughing as he nearly jumped out of his skin and turned round.

"What did you do that for!?" Balto demanded.

"Why were you creeping up through the bushes earlier?" I retorted.

"I wasn't creeping." Balto growled.

I fixed him with a stare as I said "Well then you and I have very different definitions of the word. An 'I'm coming out now' would have been much appreciated. Heck I'd have coped if you'd just said 'Hi' instead of staring at me!" That was the truth, as well. Knowing I was in-front of an individual capable of reasoning rather than a mindless animal would have been very much appreciated.

"Alright, I admit I could probably have handled that better, but where's Jenna? I can't find her anywhere." Balto said.

"She'll be at her house right now, she told me to tell you she said goodnight." I replied, catching the hint of worry in his voice.

"Well at least she's safe, but what's your name anyway?" Balto asked.

"The name's John, anything else and you'd better ask Jenna, it took me ages to explain it all and I'm too tired to do it again now" I said, curling up in a ball and almost immediately falling asleep.

Balto shrugged (or at least the dog equivalent of one) and found his blanket, then fell asleep under it, thinking _'what could have taken so long to explain? I'm gonna get Jenna and the kids to gather up at the boat, he might as well tell us all at once.'_

Then he fell asleep.

**The next morning, 1928**

I woke up on the boat, feeling very happy, but as I remembered the previous days events, my sadness grew. _'I'm a wolf-dog now...'_ I thought remembering waking up, and then a rather embarrassing memory emerged... _'annnnnd I peed myself when the most famous dog in Alaska walked up to me, I hope he hasn't told too many people, or I'll never live it down...'_ I thought glumly.

At that moment, I heard Balto talking to what seemed like a large group of dogs "Well, I saw him in these woods and I was walking up to say hello and he saw me, pissed himself and fainted." he said, then laughing along with all the others. _'Why does everything I hope doesn't happen, well, happen?'_ I moaned to myself... Then I decided that one good fright deserves another and got as close behind him as I could without being noticed, which was easy as they were still laughing.

_'It worked before, lets try it again.'_ I thought, then drew breath and shouted – almost in Balto's ear – "BOO!"

Then dropped laughing as he jumped at least a foot into the air and landed hard on the ground.

"NOT FUNNY" he growled.

"So you can make fun of me but I can't get you back, is that what you're saying?" I asked flippantly "besides, I tried it before and it didn't work so well, have you gotten _more_ jumpy since then?" I chided.

"Well you can talk can't you!" Balto said.

"Hey, you could have at least mentioned you were coming rather than just stalking up to me" I replied, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Alright boys, break it up" said Jenna, obviously not wanting this to get any further. Thoroughly agreeing with this, I walked a ways off and sat down, though still staring at Balto.

"Anyway" she said, wanting to get this matter forgotten quickly "these are our children: Kodi, Dingo, Dakota, Kiona and Saba." pointing to the five younger dogs with one of her forepaws.

"Pleased to meet you" I said to the five younger dog's "and, ah, don't tell everyone about that part, I hope to have at least some pride left by the end of today." I asked in a pleading tone of voice.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." said Kodi, then sniggered

"But we can still laugh about it!" He said, almost bursting out into a laughing fit again.

I sighed and then walked over to where the phone was – I had kept it with me, using my own body heat to prevent it from freezing up.

"Hey where are you going?" Asked Dingo.

"I presume you're here to learn who I am." I replied as I reached the black device and delicately picked it up in my jaws.

The dogs nodded, then I walked back and set the phone in front of me.

"What do you need that for?" Asked Balto.

"You'll see." said Jenna on my behalf, as I was busy turning the phone on. It emitted the start-up tone and all the dog's jumped – apart from me and Jenna, as we knew what was coming.

"It's called a smart phone," I said, then continued, "okay, this will go easier if I tell you everything first and you ask questions after." I said. All of the dog's nodded. I took a deep breath and began:

"Okay, I'm called John Adams, I'm from the year 2014, yes, nearly 100 years from now, I know a bit about you all because they made three movies about Balto. I live in Telford, England – a large town that hasn't been built yet… gawd this time-travel stuff is so confusing... Anyway, I am part of a family that lives in a large house in one of the suburbs called Priorslee… and I was not a wolf dog until I woke up yesterday morning." I finished, knowing the questions would come thick and fast here. I responded to each of them and used the phone to prove it to them, the same as I had with Jenna. When I was done, they stared at me much the same way Jenna had.

"That's why I was afraid of you, Balto, at that point I was still coming to terms with what was happening to me, so when I saw what looked like a wolf coming towards me, well…" I shrugged and looked away from them "you don't have to believe me, but I hope you do." I finished, knowing that my ears had fallen limp – I had yet to master hiding my emotions in this form, I wasn't even sure if I could.

"Well you proved it to me the first time you showed me that thing – You're certainly no ordinary wolf-dog." Jenna stated "that and your somewhat nervousness being petted, though you did seem to enjoy it." she finished. I smiled at her

"Well what can I say, it's enjoyable, though some are gentler than others." I replied. Everyone else present chuckled, giggled, or simply nodded their heads in agreement. The other dogs quickly followed Jenna's example, then pestered me with more questions about what it was like having two legs, and a human family that could understand you. "Well, what can I say? Its… different, certainly, but my family is always busy and school isn't enjoyable at all, plus I get bullied there, for no reason it seems- I could understand it now, it wouldn't be right but I could understand it if I was different in some obvious way." I replied, answering most of their questions.

"I know how you feel." stated Balto.

"Yea, but the bullies in human school have to be, well, discreet, as bulling isn't tolerated, so it isn't so much obvious things like insulting my breeding – which is nothing strange anyway – but rather little things that they find out about me," I said "they're the worst kind of bullies – they pretend to be your friend long enough you tell them something private then they use that to insult you, something the teachers won't pick up on." I sighed.

"That's why I'm always rather distrustful of friends that just come out of the blue – I'm never quite sure if they're just bullies in disguise." I stated then said one last thing, "I also have a rather short temper – I don't like to fight, but if someone hits me or insults me enough, accident or not, I get angry very quickly – I can pretty much get adrenaline on demand, unfortunately, If I let myself go, I'll be the one punished, so I tend to keep my anger and annoyance cooped up, but the problem with that is that when I do burst, there's very little that can calm me down." I sighed sadly, my ears going limp.

"That's why I tried to startle you there, Balto. If I hadn't done that and vented my annoyance it may have taken awhile but I WOULD burst and it would NOT end well for either of us, that's why I do it, I'm not trying to be immature, but I need to blow of steam after something like that and don't worry, most of it is annoyance against myself for being scared so easily." I sighed and looked at Balto "no hard feelings, right?". Balto nodded.

"No hard feelings, I guess we both got a bit carried away there." he said, I nodded.

"So what now?" I asked, wanting desperately to do something rather than sit around all day.

"Well let's take a look around." said Balto.

"Sure, not like I've got anything else to do." I agreed, following Balto into the town and taking a closer look at things that I had barely glanced at earlier.

"You seem to have got used to being a wolf dog remarkably quickly." Balto stated, when we were out of earshot of all the other dogs.

I grimaced "I haven't so much got used to it as learnt to live with it for now - if there's one thing I know, its that getting yourself worked up or upset about something you can't change benefits no one," Balto nodded silently, then I said "also, for a while now I've been having remarkably detailed dreams of being a dog and though it's not quite the same, I was more prepared than most. Actually, in my spare time I imagined waking up as a dog – still in 2014 – and getting my family to realise it was me. I hope it doesn't happen though. I'm actually happier here than I was before." the last part just kind of came out and even I was shocked by it.

"How can you prefer being petted and called a Mutt to being human?!" Balto asked. It was a fair question. I'd been 'doggy-talked' once and I wasn't looking forward to a second time.

"I told you, I'm bullied and my family always seems to be doing other things, the only time they pay any attention at all to me is when they tell me off for forgetting to do my homework" I sighed.

_'How come,'_ I wondered, _'a group of dogs and humans who can't even understand me seem to care more for me than my own family?'_

I decided to change the subject rather than think too hard on that.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." I stated, Balto looked at me and replied

"Well I don't think being seen rooting around in the trash can's will help your popularity."

I grimaced and interrupted.

"Not to mention my pride and the awful smell coming off them" I said, making it clear I wasn't about to go foraging for scraps. Balto looked at the forest, a gleam shining in his eyes.

"Well, you are part wolf right now, let's see how good you are at feeding yourself." he said craftily.

"You're talking about hunting aren't you?" I asked, seeing where this was going.

"Yep, follow me!" He stated before running off into the woods

I sighed and ran after him.

**Ten minutes later**

In the woods outside Nome, two wolf dogs are hunting small game- one of them making rather a mess of it.

"This is hopeless!" I exclaimed, after yet again spooking a rabbit before I could get anywhere near.  
"You'll get it eventually." Balto said. "Remember, I wasn't any better than you my first few times."  
"The first few times for you, you were a pup!" I exclaimed "at that stage, you learn quicker than you ever will afterwards – and how long did it take you to get so much as a rabbit?" I asked.  
"A couple of months," Balto admitted "but I didn't have anyone to teach me, I'm sure you'll manage it quicker." he hurriedly added, seeing the look of hopelessness on my face. "OK, one more try and you can go back, I'll get enough for both of us."  
"OK," I replied "I think I see one." I whispered.  
"Good, now remember: stalk, crouch, spring."  
"Got it, here I go." I replied before padding off towards the sound, hopefully silent to my prey (I had been told only to refer to the animals I hunted as prey – It distanced me from them and helped stop me hesitating).

So far, so good: the animal – which I now precognized as a rabbit – hadn't seen me yet and I crouched behind a nearby bush, waiting to pounce. When the rabbit turned away slightly, I sprang up and, acting on the instinct of my new body, caught it and grabbed its neck in my jaws before shaking my head violently, breaking its neck before it could utter more than a frightened screech. I sat down and washed the blood from my muzzle in the snow – the townspeople were already unsure of me, what would happen if I came back covered in blood?

"Very good John, you learn fast for someone who's never even thought of hunting before." said Balto, coming out of the bushes.

"I caught a rabbit, so what? Besides, I still don't even know how to eat it." I stated.

Balto walked up to me and started explaining "Ok, you'll want to strip off the fur first." he said, demonstrating how to pull the fur off the rabbit so we wouldn't get it stuck in our teeth. After the fur had been stripped away, Balto motioned to me to take the first bite.

I was unsure of this as from what I knew of wolf culture taking the first bite was often a sign of respect and I was unsure whether I should take it or let Balto, as he had taught me.

Then I thought _'Ah, what the hell! This is my kill anyway!'_ Before crouching down and starting to eat. Balto joined me after the first tentative bites and between us we finished the rabbit pretty quickly.

"Well, it took the edge off, at least." I commented when we had finished eating.

Balto nodded "It will take more than one rabbit to feed either of us, you up for some more?" He asked, I nodded,

"I hate to feel useless and now I seem to have the hang of it I think I'll stick around for a bit" I said as I followed Balto further into the woods.

_'Maybe this wolf business isn't so bad after all.'_ I thought.

Balto grinned as he and I ate the fourth rabbit "I told you that you'd like it" he said, gulping down another bite of raw meat. I grimaced.

"Frankly, I'd prefer it cooked, I know it isn't vital now my body is that of a wolf-dog, but I've grown up eating cooked meat, and this makes me feel like, well, an animal…" I trailed of as I realised I may have insulted him, but I needn't have worried.

"It's meant to, if you're gonna live like this, you should know how to eat." he said dryly.

"That's not what I meant, I'm thankful for this and I am enjoying it but I can't help feeling self-conscious." I said quickly.

"You'll get used to it... Or you'll just have to find a human family." Balto said slowly.

"I think I'll wait on the family part, I haven't entirely given up on my original family and being raised as a human, the concept of being owned by someone is a bit scary." I said, thinking also about what happened to dogs whose human owners aren't very nice.

_'well, if I do find a family, it'd better be a nice one.' _I thought, feeling that I'd made it more likely by just thinking about it and hating myself for that.

Noticing the shift in my thoughts and also remembering how repugnant the idea of being owned was – frankly he couldn't understand it, he'd give anything to be a part of a human family – but he knew humans found it distasteful and remembering who his companion was, Balto was worried that he may have upset me.

"Hey, John" he said tentatively "I hope you don't think I -"

"It's alright Balto, I know what you mean" I interrupted him "I'm just not ready yet" I finished, not wanting him to get worried about me.

"Well I wish you luck if you do decide to find a family – I'm the town hero and no-one has adopted me." said Balto sadly.

At that point, I decided a change of topic was on order, before either of us got too caught up thinking sad thoughts.

"Well, do you think this is enough?" I asked, gesturing to the rabbit to show him what I meant.

"For now, yea let's go back to the town before someone gets worried about us." Balto replied. I nodded and we started back to the town. Along the way, Balto asked many questions about my life before and I was only too glad to answer, as it took my mind off my current predicament.

"well yes and no, I always wanted a dog but my parents said I couldn't have one" I replied after he had asked if I had ever wanted or had a pet dog, I smiled "the looks on their faces if they saw me like this…" I stopped as I realised where that thought would lead me, but I couldn't stop myself. "my… my dad never did like dogs, he said they were dumb animals that did nothing other than eat, sleep and poo, I don't think he's ever actually met a dog like you Balto – if he had he probably wouldn't think so badly of dogs" I finished, smiling half-heartedly. Balto realised that the innocent enough question had made me think about my family in a not so great light and changed the subject.

"Just out of interest, how did you feel about dogs?" Balto asked "before you became one, I mean." he added quickly.

I smiled at him and replied "well I wasn't too sure about how smart you guys were, but I always thought there was a certain dignity in the way all the dog's I saw moved, I really wasn't certain though." I answered truthfully enough.

Balto nodded and said: "well at least you had an open mind, without being able to understand us and being raised by someone who thinks so lowly of dogs its a wonder you didn't completely flip when you were turned into one." he said.

I grimaced "I very nearly did Balto, you startled me out if it just after I started talking to myself." I said.

"Yea, I guess that I could've said something before I came out, sorry about startling you there." Balto said.

I couldn't believe my ears. _'Balto's apologising to me?'_ I wondered before quickly replying:

"You shouldn't be apologising! If it weren't for you and your family, I would have no idea how to do anything! Besides, I think that shock was just what I needed – though I don't think I appreciated it at the time." I joked. Balto smiled

"Happy to help, things were getting boring by the time you showed up – I probably wouldn't be in great mental health at the moment either if _something_ hadn't happened."

Now it was my turn to smile.

"Looks like we should be thanking each other for saving the other from insanity then!" I joked, then thought of something "Seriously though, I don't think you go mad from boredom as much as waking up to find you're a dog – I'm pretty sure I'm not mad now but this is exactly the type of thing that makes you question your sanity." I said, grinning slightly.

"If it makes you feel better, you seem to me to be one of the sanest guys I've met" Balto said, I smiled

"Thanks Balto and you're one of the few people I've met that are true friends rather than just pretenders." I replied. "And, er, sorry about that... Event at the boat" I said, looking away slightly.

"It's alright John, I understand why you did that." Balto replied, though he was frowning slightly.

"What is it?" I asked, worried, Balto seemed to be sniffing for something in the air.

"I….don't know…" Balto said absentmindedly "it's almost like…" I never heard the end of that sentence because at that instant, everything went black…

_**In the original this was two chapters, but they were both short so I decided to merge them to make it easier to read :)**_

_**By the way, the reason this is updating so fast compared to ATB is because I'm just checking over and adding bits to old chapters right now, it'll slow down once I run out.**_

_**Don't expect another update until after the next ATB update. I'm trying to balence the stories.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Be warned this is where the story turns darker! (I let Sado-me out for the next few chapters).**_

_**The main changes I have made to this chapter are some tweaking of the dialogue and grammar, merging chapters as well as entirely new dialogue in some parts. Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 4 – Captured!**

**John's POV**

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was pain. Lots of pain. Pain absolutely everywhere, from my muzzle to my tail there was a continuous line of pain, whoever having done it having seemingly having paid special attention to my belly and, err, Joy department, slashing it with claws (at least, I hoped just claws) while I was unconscious. I whined quietly as I forced my eyes open.

_'FUCK, that stings!'_ was the first coherent thought I managed to process before I noticed the second thing: I was in a cage in some draughty building with what appeared to be a young she-wolf in the opposite corner.

Given what they had done to me, I knew she had probably endured about the same as me... Though there was one thing that our mutual captors may have done to her that didn't bear thinking about.

_'Damn, if they have done that to her, I really feel sorry for her.'_ I thought as I raised myself painfully off the floor, but it was full of splinters and other things and lying down on it would do me more harm than good anyway.

Unsure of what to say, I said the first thing to pop into my head; unfortunately this was nothing noble or profound – it was nothing more than this: "Damn, this hurts" I grumbled, then mentally kicked myself for saying something so selfish as my first words to this young… woman? _'How should I think of her?'_ I wondered, then heard her say something.

"Oh, so you're awake." she muttered, looking towards me slightly "thought you wouldn't wake up for a while yet." she said.

"I tend to wake up quicker when I don't want to." I replied dryly, then shook myself. The action caused fresh pain to lash through my body but also cleared my mind slightly.

"So, um, what's your name?" I asked, feeling slightly shy.

"Aleu, daughter of Balto and Jenna" she replied, after a brief pause. My eyes widened in realisation and now that I looked properly, I could see that she was at least part dog, which confirmed what she had just said.

Aleu saw this, "What are you looking at me like that for?!" She asked, rising tension in her voice. I realised I had been staring and averted my eyes quickly.

"Sorry, it's just your name sounds... Familiar." I stated, then looked back at her, though not as intensely as before, "I suppose you want to know mine now." I said, trying to make my voice as soft as possible – the poor girl was scared enough already without me coming across as some kind of pedo.

She nodded.

"The name's John," I said softly "and the last I heard you were with a wolf pack up north somewhere – how'd you get here anyway?" I asked. She shook her head.

"You first." she replied, some of the tension still in her voice. I nodded.

"Well, alright, but please understand I can't tell you everything; for one thing, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, for another, it'd take amazingly long to tell you everything and I am sure there are certain things you want to keep secret too. But I promise I won't leave out anything important and if you have any questions just ask." I said, then began at the point Balto found me.

After some internal deliberation I had told her a basic view of my time before then – simply saying I had come from far away and didn't know if I could get home – and though I admitted I fainted when I saw Balto the first time, I didn't tell her about peeing myself. Something told me she needed someone brave just now and the guy that peed himself when Balto came up to him just didn't seem to fit the bill.

I then jumped ahead to the boat when I woke up.

"Anyway, when I woke up, I saw two polar bears and decided I was probably better off pretending to still be asleep... which didn't work. Jenna must've had excellent vision cause she noticed even though I had barely opened my eyes." I said, chuckling slightly.

"Anyway, we had much the same conversation as you and I are having now, then my stomach rumbled – which Jenna also noticed – and we decided to go into town... it was actually my first time being petted." I admitted, my ears twitching slightly as I remembered the pleasantly relaxing feelings it gave me.

"though some of the kids are a bit rough on the ears, it did feel good – atleast until a guy with a shotgun showed up. At that point, I decided to scarper sharpish and caught up with Jenna as we got to her owner's house."

At this point, Aleu interrupted me by asking incredulously, "So you went into town and they _didn't_ just shoot you?"  
"Well since you left, Balto became a hero – again – by saving the pilot of something called a bush plane. He was the only one of the dogs to go at first cause the rest just thought the pilot was trying to take their jobs and said that he was the enemy, luckily Kodi eventually came to his senses and persuaded the rest of the sled dogs to follow him to find Balto." I took a breath there.

"They finally found him found as he was dragging Duke – the pilot – over an ice bridge, which snapped halfway over. They were lucky enough to get to them quick enough to stop Balto and Duke falling into the chasm and so Balto had saved yet another human."

"So my guess is the town's a bit more trustful of wolf-dog's now," I stated, then admitted, "though it probably helped that Jenna walked in front of me and even the humans knew she wouldn't lead someone who meant any harm into the town."

After I had finished, Aleu sighed,  
"So much has happened since I left, I wonder if any of them would even recognise me..." she said sadly.

I shook my head adamantly, "Aleu, if people really care about you, it won't matter how long it's been."

"Thanks..." Aleu said, smiling just a little.  
"Anyway, when we got there, Rosy's dad was more than a little wary of me – or at least he was until Rosy just came up and petted me. I think that gave him the message and he got me a little food before I went back to the boat, where Balto happened to have just got back from getting himself some food too." I grimaced.

"I have to admit, I was feeling rather annoyed about Balto – intentionally or not – scaring the crap out of me, so I crept up behind him and shouted 'boo' at him – it worked too, he must've jumped at least a foot into the air!" I chuckled slightly at the memory.

"Anyway, after that we had a little conversation – partly about me scaring the shit out of him – and I told him much the same as I told Jenna, though I rushed through it a bit more as by this point I was pretty tired. I guess he decided to get the family together because when I woke up, Balto, Jenna, Kodi, Dingo, Saba, Kiona and Dakota were all talking to each other just outside the boat."

"I don't know whether to be thankful or angry at him because as well as giving me the chance to tell all of them my story at once he also used it as a way to spread a rumour that I wet myself when he first walked up to me." I then reviewed my earlier decision and decided to tell her at least part of the truth about this – if we got out of this mess Kodi would probably tell her anyway and knowing I had lied about this may well make her more sceptical when I revealed my actual secret.

_'IF we survive this.'_ I thought glumly – I may have only been a wolf-dog for a few day's but I hadn't been born yesterday either and knew we would both likely end up as someone's winter clothing if we didn't get out soon.

I decided that as soon as I had finished my story, maybe before, I would start looking for a way out or just something I could use to frighten whoever captured us.

"Sorry, got sidetracked there," I apologised, realising I had gone silent as I thought about our situation, "Now, where was I? Ah yes, Balto told everyone about me peeing myself when he came up to me – course I wouldn't know cause I was already pretty much out cold by that point, but '_I can't just let him say this'_, I thought." I said, chuckling quietly.

"So I crept up behind him and did the 'boo' thing again, just this time others were there to note just how high he jumped. Anyway, I then apologised and he did likewise and after me telling my full story for all of them, me and Balto took a walk around the town and as we talked, we both admitted we were a bit hungry but neither of us wanted to beg for food so we decided to hunt some food, only problem was I, err, Ididn'tknowhowtohuntanything." I finished quickly, for some reason feeling ashamed of admitting this to her. Aleu just looked puzzled.  
"What do you mean you can't hunt?" She asked.  
"I meant I didn't know how before Balto taught me, lets just say that I grew up around humans and had never needed to," I replied, then I looked at the floor "I-I'll probably never see them again, I never liked them much but they were all I had…" I noticed Aleu was looking at me strangely, so I shook myself again and tried to remember where I had got to.  
"Ah, yes, anyway I had just got my first, well, _anything _and decided to stick round Balto for awhile, we had caught a few more rabbit's and had started back to town when…" I stopped realising this part was probably going to get strong reactions from both of us, especially when I mentioned Balto was with me, but I had gone too far now to stop "when Balto said he could smell something. I saw something in the bushes behind us, felt a pain in my head… that's when I was knocked out." I finished, looking down sadly.

Aleu looked shocked and afraid,  
"Y-you mean my Papa was with you when…" she stopped, looking like she would be crying if she could. I nodded silently.  
"I hope he got away, it seems that since he's not in here with us, he's either being kept separately, got away or he's…" I didn't need to finish that sentence. Aleu fell into quivering, whimpering heap and I felt ashamed about making her feel so bad in what was already a bad situation.

_'I'm not going to force her to tell me anything,'_ I decided, as the final part may be very much like mine and I didn't want either of us any sadder. While Aleu was on the ground I had no idea how to comfort her so I just started walking round the edge of the cage, not a very long walk, for it was barely big enough to fit both of us while maintaining some personal space.

Unfortunately, apart from some spectacular blood and fecal (poo) stains on the floor and a thin covering of mostly rotten hay, there was nothing there. _'It's hopeless,'_ I thought glumly, _'there's no way either of us is getting out of here without help!'_

Besides, from the way she looked and I felt, it was unlikely either of us could run any distance anyway. As I thought this, I heard the door to the building creak open and heard someone walking in

"There's someone coming." I warned Aleu unnecessarily, as she had already noticed and was forcing herself up to face whoever was coming through.

A scratching of claws on the wood floor heralded the arrival of a thickset red and white husky with scars running down his body.

The dog stepped confidently forwards and sent a sickening smile towards Aleu.

He licked his chops, "So, how're you doin', babe?" He asked slyly.

Aleu growled lowly "Don't. Call. Me. That."

The dog just smirked, "Now, now, is that any way to talk to your Mate?" He asked threateningly.

"You will NEVER be my Mate, you damn perverted Mutt!" Aleu yelled furiously.

The dog growled lowly but smiled, "Now, I'd say it's a bit late for that, hm?"

Aleu lowered her gaze and whimpered, the topic obviously bringing up bad memories for her.

'_Wait, did he... Did that dog...' _The way he talked to Aleu, the way she reacted... This dog... had raped her...

Aleu had always been my favourite character from the movies, and I really thought she seemed to be a nice girl, so for this to be done to her... She didn't deserve it. No one did.

"You sick, perverted dog," I growled, a feral edge coming to the fore as I almost shook with anger, placing myself between the two canines to force him to look at me.

He turned as though just noticing me and said "Oh, so you're awake after all, wolf. Not that it will help you much. Master doesn't believe in... _wasting_ the furs of you kind," He chuckled darkly, "He prefers lighter colours on clothes, so I'm guessing decoration or bedding. Maybe a rug."

I froze at that and swallowed slightly, unbidden images of a man wiping his feet on my hollowed out corpse coming to mind, followed by a taxidermised version of me with cold glass eyes and several other images of my fur being used - not all of them being after I was dead.

I shook my head and tried to growl at the dog, but all that came out was a scared whimper.

The dog chuckled, "Oh, you don't like that idea, do you?" He said, smiling.

"N-No." I said, trembling, unable to get the images out of my head now.

The dog just smiled again, "Well it's going to happen. I'd suggest you get used to it." He said, turning around and exiting the barn.

I lay with my head on my paws, whimpering slightly as I tried to get my now over-active imagination to stop thinking of painful ways I was going to die.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Aleu.

I whimpered slightly as I said "How can you cope with this? That hunter's going to turn us into winter clothing, decorations, whatever - and there's nothing we can do about it..."

Aleu lowered her head and said quietly, "There's nothing WE can do about it, but there could always be others ready to help. Hopefully Papa knows about this now so he can send a rescue. You can't give up hope, it's exactly what that hunter and his dogs want."

I looked at her and nodded slightly, "You're... You're right. Just giving up won't solve anything."

'_And I shouldn't be the one being comforted.' _I added silently, remembering my realisation of what had happened to her.

Aleu nodded back and lay down.

I sighed and looked up through the cage bars.

_'Is there even going to BE a rescue, though...' _

**Meanwhile, with Balto...**

"If it makes you feel better, you seem to me to be one of the nicest guys I've met." I said, John smiled  
"Thanks Balto and you're one of the few people I've met that are true friends rather than just pretenders" John replied. "And, ah, sorry again about that... event at the boat." John said, looking away slightly.  
"It's alright John, I understand why you did that." I replied, but I smelt something and started frowning.  
"What is it?" John asked, looking worried.

I could smell something but couldn't put my paw on it.

"I don't know…" I said absent-mindedly "it's almost like-" I never finished that sentence because I heard a yelp from behind me, looking back, I saw a hunter who looked up as John yelped, probably a reflexive action, he looked unconscious before he fell.

Then survival took over and I started running as fast as I could towards Nome, hearing the baying of hunting dogs behind me.

'_Crap, these guy's are serious.'_ I thought as they managed to keep pace with me, but after awhile my wolf stamina and sled-dog skills let me pull ahead enough to get to town before them.

I saw people looking curiously at me but I paid them no mind.

'_I have to find Jenna.'_ I thought, slowing and trying to find her scent in the air. Of course, she was at her house and looked surprised when I burst out of the main street and collapsed in front of her, panting heavily.  
"Balto! What happened?" Jenna asked, obviously worried about me, then she noticed something else "Wait a minute, where's John?" she asked, confusion evident in her face, I sighed.  
"H-Hunters, they J-Jumped us when we were heading back," I managed to get out between pants "I barely got away myself, John was knocked unconscious immediately by a hunter when they caught us by surprise." I elaborated before she could ask where John was.

'_It's my fault, I should have been more alert.'_ I thought, dropping my head in frustration with myself for forgetting that hunters regularly traversed those woods. Jenna seemed to know exactly what I was thinking because she said.  
"Balto you said it yourself he was unconscious, there's no way you could have gotten out if you stayed to help." she said, seeming instantly to know about all my doubts with that insight that I so loved about her.  
"Yea... I guess your right." I replied, head still down.

Then I realized something "but John is all alone out there and he has no idea how to get out of this kind of thing – he has no experience with this!" I said worriedly, not worried about my own safety but rather John's "he's smart, alright, but by human standards - and physically by ours – he's far too young to have this happen to him, poor kid." I finished sadly.  
"I know he's young, but he seems well enough versed in this kind of thing to cope for awhile" Jenna stated.  
"For awhile," I said, putting emphasis on the 'awhile' "someone needs to help him or he's dead for sure." I said, closing my eyes sadly. _'if he isn't dead already that is – they're called hunters for a reason.'_ I thought bitterly.  
"Well we'd better tell everyone we can trust and see about some kind of rescue." Jenna said, once again displaying a perfect understanding of the situation.  
"Right," I said, nodding, "I'll find the kids, you get any good enough friends to trust and we'll explain it to them."

Jenna nodded back and we split up, her setting about walking through the town while I headed towards the musher's house where Kodi would probably be.

'_I just hope I'm not too late.'_ I thought glumly.

**Unknown's POV – Woods outside Nome**

'_I have to get some shelter soon'_ I thought as I pushed through the forest - a storm was on the way.

I really had no Idea how far south I was, I had simply followed the general direction of the sled and hoped for the best the whole way.

I passed a frozen puddle and took a moment to inspect my reflection.

I was a dark grey coloured wolf with a off-white underbelly, nothing really standing out except for the fact that I had several large scars and a round hole in my left ear that still had dried blood around it, the latter a result of the hunters attacking the pack. I also hadn't had a decent amount to eat for ages, so my ribs could be easily seen through my fur. I sighed as I looked at the beat-up wolf in the reflection.

_'I look like shit.' _was the first thing that came to mind.

I sighed slightly, lowing my head. _'Why did it have to happen? Why did so many good wolves die while I lived?' _I asked myself, then narrowed my eyes in determination.

_'Well whatever the reason, I'm here, and I've still got a purpose: to find and aid my Alpha.' _

Thus decided, I continued walking.

At that moment, I saw a town on the horizon. _'great, more humans.'_ I thought sarcastically, starting to think of ways I could avoid getting anywhere near the town.

But then I caught a scent that I was used to but most certainly didn't expect from a human town.

'_wolves, or at least wolf hybrids, and there's more than one of them.'_ I thought as I sifted through the smells – I used to be the packs best tracker and was extremely proud of the fact that I could tell you the exact number, position and size of a caribou herd before I got anywhere near it, so a wolves scent in a human town isn't exactly hard for me to pick up even from this distance.

'_And no signs of panic or fear from either humans, dogs or the wolves.'_ I realized as I analysed the smell further, realising that this could be a good thing after all – If the wolves were here willingly and by consent of both humans and dogs then maybe I could get some shelter after all.

Deciding to make a little test, I howled towards the town and waited, knowing that any self-respecting wolf that heard another's howl would likely respond by instinct.

After about 5 seconds, I heard a howl from the town and it was the type of full-throated howl that only those who are either full wolf or at least a significant part wolf and had practised hard could manage.

I howled again, this time using it as on opportunity to also send a simple message into the town.

'_come, must speak.'_ was I had time to say, as the code wolves used to communicate through howls took time to send a long message. After another few seconds I heard an affirmative sounding howl from the town and lay down to wait for whoever it was he had summoned, hoping I had done the right thing.

I waited until I smelt something approaching - now it was closer, I could tell that the wolf was male and had a strange smell of dog on him.

'_Hardly surprising living in a town full of dogs, but I'd have to say he's at least part dog.'_ I decided, shortly before whoever it was came through the bushes I was hiding behind.

"Well, hi." I said nervously, suddenly not very sure about this.  
"Hello," said the wolf-dog "I'm Balto, you are?" said 'Balto', obviously deciding to go for the friendly approach, an approach I decided to share.

"Fogul, Beta wolf of the valley pack." I said proudly – no matter what happened to the rest of the pack, I would always be proud to say I was a member of one of the largest wolf packs in this area of the world. _'Not bad for a "lazy kid"' _I thought, chuckling internally.

As I said this, though, the wolf dog seemed to tense up and I wondered whether he didn't like the idea of my pack coming of something.

I was about to launch into an explanation that the pack was nowhere near here when he surprised by me by asking quietly.

"what is the name of your Alpha?"

He seemed deeply worried about something and I wanted to be honest with this so I said truthfully "Nava used to be our Alpha, but recently we have been led by a wolf-dog hybrid known as Aleu" I said, beacing myself for whatever reaction he may show.

He relaxed instantly and asked "this Aleu, she about this high, similar colours to me?" he asked, raising one of his forepaws to a point around the height of his head. I nodded.

He smiled, "well then welcome, I would be happy to meet any friend of Aleu." he said.

"How do you know her?" I asked, unsure of his sudden friendliness.

Balto looked puzzled "she didn't tell you about her parents?" he asked.

"Well, she said her father's name was Balt… oh" I trailed off realizing what he was getting on about "you're her father?" I asked hoping to confirm this. He nodded.

"yes, I am Balto, Mate to Jenna and father to Kodi, Dingo, Saba, Kiona, Dakota and Aleu." he confirmed.

I realised he didn't know about the packs downfall and knew I must tell him of what happened to his daughter.

I sighed – I never had liked being the bearer of bad news.

"I'm afraid I didn't come here to tell you how she's doing, but the simple answer is 'not so well' along with the rest of the pack for that matter." I said quietly, lowering my head. Balto looked worried.

"what's happened to her?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes as I said sadly "Balto, the rest of the pack is dead, killed by hunters. The last time I saw Aleu, she was alive but unconscious and being dragged into a hunter's sled, before she was knocked out she saw most of the pack including the one that she loved killed before her eyes… I am the only one left apart from her. I have nothing left... my mate, my friends, they're all dead... the only thing I have left is my responsibility to save my alpha." I said, faltering a bit as I thought about them but forcing myself to finish strong.

_'The time for grieving is later. I can't let my feelings distract me.' _I reminded myself.

Balto just stood there shocked "no… damn it no! This is not a good day!" he yelled, then just stood there shaking in either anger or fear, probably both.

"Okay, what else has happened?" I asked, guessing this wasn't the only bad thing that had happened to him today. Balto looked at me and grimaced.

"A short while ago, me and my friend John were hunting small game when we were jumped by a hunter, he knocked John clean out and I had to run for my life. Now I find out my daughter is in deadly danger too!" he sighed "and that her entire pack is dead, this is probably the worst day of my life." he said, allowing his head to go down and his ears to fall flat against his head. He was a picture of despair. But he then seemed to pull himself together and looked at me with fire in his eyes.

I got a feeling that we may be able to help each other. "This hunter, he's tall, dark haired and has a load of hunting dogs?" I asked. Balto nodded.

"That's the one that took Aleu... if they have both been taken by the same guy, we should probably work together." I said. Balto smiled.

"Maybe we should." he replied.

"Why are you here, though? I mean, I've never seen a wolf around here before." Balto asked.

"I'm just wandering, trying to find Aleu's scent. I was going to just avoid the town entirely until I smelt you." I replied.

Then we both noticed the storm coming. "We'd better take shelter." I suggested. Balto nodded.

"The storm's too close and we're on the wrong side of Nome to get to the boat." he said. "Normally, no problem, but with a wolf..." he added, looking at me.

I nodded in understanding.

"Yes, this could pose a problem." I agreed.

"Well I know a few good hiding spots in the town and my family too... One thing though: I'm half husky and my mate, Jenna, is a purebred husky. Aleu was the only one of our children that looked like a wolf."

I nodded in response to his 'reveal' but in all honesty had already guessed that he was at least part dog and couldn't care less - unlike many dogs or wolves, my parents hadn't filled me with stereotypes about how 'vile' dogs were but instead taught me to judge people based on their actions not what they were.

I voiced this to Balto and he appeared pleased with this response.

"Same here, though living in a town as we are, I didn't tell the kids they were part wolf until Aleu ran off - at that point I decided to come clean with them about my mother being a wolf. Probably would've saved a lot of bother if I'd just told them in the first place, but..."

"You didn't want to risk it." I guessed.

"Exactly." Balto nodded, "Though it turns out that it wouldn't have been to much of problem anyway - They all took it surprisingly well, though I think that could be because I had always told them to he sceptical when hearing of so-called 'atrocities' by wolves and that most were just as good as any dog."

"I think they got the idea as I was telling them that I must have at least known a wolf at some point. To tell you the truth, though, you are the first full wolf I've met apart from when me and Aleu were with the pack. And most of that time wasn't exactly spent getting to know you guys." said Balto.

I nodded, smiling. "well, if you can guarantee I won't get shot, I'm happy to go in with you. I'm in no hurry to get a matching pair of holes." I said, flicking my holed ear to draw his attention to it.

He looked confused for a second before he realised what it was.

"Is that... is that a _bullet hole!?"_ He asked, looking at the ear in question in shock. I nodded.

"Yes, yes it is. An inch or two lower and I wouldn't be standing here talking to you."

"Damn. must've hurt." he said sympathetically.

"Still does." I replied, "That, and I can't get to it to lick the blood off, so that's starting to irritate me too."

Balto nodded slightly, "I think I know a way you can get that cleaned up, but first let's get back on track here; we need to get into a spot in town where you won't be found.

I nodded in agreement.

"Any ideas?" I asked him, since I had no idea of the layout of the town.

Balto looked thoughtful and said "I know out of experience how to get around the town and a few good spots to hide, I'll lead you to one and you wait there untill I get my family, they should trust you."

I nodded "lead the way." I said, smiling. Balto nodded and we started towards the town, me feeling more than a little nervous...

When we got to the town, we went through the alleys to a large building in the middle of town.

"What is that?" I asked. Balto followed my gaze and said

"That's the hospital, its where sick or wounded humans go to get better, but the reason we're here is that there is a large space underneath it that only I and a few others know about." he said as he took bolts out of the door and led me into a small boiler room, then into a space under the hospital. I sat down in the middle of the largest area.

"Stay here until I get my family and stay quiet, the last thing either of us need is you being found this deep into the town." Balto whispered.

I nodded and lay down to wait.

**Balto's POV**

I left Fogul under the hospital and headed towards Jenna's house. By the time I got there, all of my remaining kids and Jenna were all there already.

"I thought you said you were going to find some of your friends" I said to Jenna.

"well when I thought about it, the two friends I would talk to about this are also massive gossipers, they wouldn't be able to keep a secret." said Jenna, looking a bit embarrassed. I sighed.

"Just as well, I guess. I found someone in the woods you're gonna want to meet." I said.

Jenna looked suddenly hopeful "Who is it? Is it Aleu?" she asked, her tail wagging slightly as the thought of the most wolf-like of our pups. I sighed, not liking the harsh reality that she and the others had to know of.

"Not exactly… I'll let him explain it." I said, starting towards the hospital.

"So, who is 'he', anyway?" Jenna asked along the way.  
"A wolf that goes by the name Fogul, he's from the pack Aleu went to lead and don't worry, he knows that you're a husky and seems perfectly okay with it – he'd have to be after being led by one that was more dog than wolf anyway, I guess." I replied.  
"So, was he the wolf you heard howling while you were talking to me, dad?" asked Kodi. I nodded.  
"Yea, he could see the town and was about to get as far away from it as possible when he smelt something he didn't expect… me. Well, me mainly, since I'm the one with the most wolf in him, that was why he howled – he wanted to know how come we were in the town without being shot at." I said as we got to the hospital and I opened the door.

Making sure everyone was still together we all crawled into the crawlspace underneath the building.

**Fogul's POV**

I sat up as I saw Balto walk in, followed by six others, who indeed all looked to be dogs.

I sniffed the air and found that five of them, the younger ones, were part wolf and the older female was full husky.

I assumed this to be Jenna and her and Balto's pups. This assumption was borne out when Balto stepped forward so he was in between me and the others and said.

"Everyone, this is Fogul. Fogul, this is my mate Jenna and our kids Kodi, Dingo, Saba, Kiona and Dakota. Of course, you already know about Aleu, since she's been leading your pack recently."

I nodded.

"Indeed, but I'm afraid that I do not come with good news, Balto already knows this, I am assuming that I am to explain to the rest of you what has happened." I said. They all nodded.

"Well then, where should I begin..." I began "things were going great shortly after Aleu had become our Alpha, we had more food and territory than we knew what to do with and she was also starting to develop feelings for one of the wolves, feelings he shared - I know because he confided in me."

"All was well for a time, but then human hunters and their hunting dog's came... We tried to avoid them but in the end they got us... I am the only one still alive and free and I came round here because the last time I saw Aleu she was being bundled into a hunters sled and it went this general direction and since I have no other reason to live, I followed. Your friend, 'John' I believe his name is?" I asked, getting solemn nods in response "has been captured by the same hunter that got Aleu, since we all want them rescued, I will help you find them both. I used to be the packs scout and even after a day, I should still be able to tell where they went. Any questions?" I asked.

Jenna cleared her throat and I looked at her curiously as she asked "I don't mean to pry, but how come you're so okay with all of us being either a significant part dog or full dog?"

I nodded and said

"good question, though the answer to it is the same reason that you aren't all screaming in fear at a wolf in your midst - I have learnt to judge people by who they are, not what they are, I genuinely have no hard feelings towards most humans or dogs because I know they aren't all the same." I replied politely, though I stressed the 'all' knowing that these were probably the only dogs that were okay with me. Jenna and the others seemed to catch on to this because she spoke again:

"thanks… I am sorry for what some of my own kind do… they tell tales of how vicious wolves are whilst doing even worse to them than any did to us. Just know that there are some of us who know better than to believe them… and when you find the ones that harmed my daughter and her friends, well, I wouldn't much care what you do to them."

The rest of them nodded.

"If they've hurt my sis..." Kodi muttered darkly.

I nodded back and glanced up as I heard a gust of wind hit the building.

"Well we can't do anything with that storm." I said, "Lets get some rest and go find them in the morning."

The rest of them nodded and went their own ways while I curled up to rest where I was.

_**Sorry I haven't updated, but I've been playing a lot of War Thunder recently and it's difficult to write any of my stories when all I can do is imagine the Characters in Spitfire's, Hurricane's, Typhoon's and of course the mighty Beufighter Mk VIc and MK X (Those 20 mm's!), shooting down or bombing the main villains while spouting Top Gun quotes (I actually do that in W.T.)**_

_**Random Trivia: At this stage of the original, I was raging about how few reviews I got. Now I've got used to it though, so no more rage paragraph.**_

_**On a side note, I really believe this rewrite is far better than the original ever was. Whether this is because of myself having more experience or just the fact that I can implement things now that I couldn't in the original, I'm not sure, but I really like this more than the original. Also, StarlitSnowWolf reviewed on the last chapter! I didn't even know you read my stories!**_

_**(For anyone that doesn't know, Starlit is the author of several M rated fics in the A&O archive, and I always stay up to date on all of them. Most of his stories feature Beastiality though, so if you don't like that idea don't read 'em.)**_

_**Thanks also to my friend DarkfireVI and regular reviewer Noblewriter!**_

_**Thanks for reading the latest, greatest chapter in FBTW and until next time**_

_**- Johnwolf234 signing off, 'May your pack live on in legend.'**_

_**P.S: Sorry if I put you on the spot there Starlit, but when I saw your review I actually reloaded the page a couple times to make sure it wasn't a glitch, so I kinda had to mention you.**_


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